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Exposure to bullying is part of everyday life for about 5% of Norwegian employees, according to national statistics. Two studies that look at the long-term effects of bullying in the workplace show that people exposed to bullying are more likely to develop mental health problems and, conversely, that there is an increased possibility of someone with mental health problems being exposed to bullying later in life. Victims of bullying are also more likely quit or plan to quit their jobs.
Workplace bullying is the tendency for individuals or groups to use persistent aggressive or unreasonable behaviour against a co-worker or subordinate. Unlike other forms of harassment, such as sexual harassment and racism, bullying is not about isolated incidents but rather about persistent attacks in which inappropriate or offensive behaviour is systematically directed against one or more workers.
According to Statistics Norway, nearly 5% of Norwegian employees are exposed to repeated acts of bullying from managers and colleagues during a normal working week. A fifth of these workers are affected to such degree that they find it difficult to deal with the situation.
It is thought that a variety of problems relating to health and well-being are connected to a worker’s exposure to bullying. The problem of bullied workers not being unable to defend themselves was also highlighted.
The relationship between bullying and health has been studied in a number of scientific papers over the past few decades. The results of these studies show clear correlations between the reporting of exposure to bullying and physical and mental health.
One weakness of previous research is that most studies are based on cross-sectional data. In previous studies bullying and health have been measured simultaneously. An important limitation of cross-sectional research is that this type of study does not provide any information about the long-term effects of bullying, or the relationship between cause and effect.
The relationship between bullying and health was examined in two different prospective studies by researchers at the National Institute of Occupational Health (STAMI).
For the first study (Finne et al, 2011), 1,971 Norwegian employees from 20 organisations answered questions regarding workplace bullying and mental distress at both baseline and follow up. Baseline data were gathered between 2004–2006, and the follow up data between 2006–2009. The time between baseline and follow up was approximately two years for all the respondents in all the organisations. The study measured individual characteristics, mental distress, self-reported workplace bullying, job demands and job control.
For the second study (Berthelsen et al, 2011), a prospective design with two surveys of a national representative sample of the Norwegian work force was used (n = 1,775). The response rate at the first data collection in 2005 was 56.4%, and 70% at the second data collection in 2007. In this study, bullying was measured using two measurement methods; those who reported that they were victims of bullying, and those who reported they had been exposed to bullying behavior, respectively.
The results of the studies show that being bullied in the workplace increases the risk of employees developing mental problems later. The relationship is particularly strong for people who feel that they cannot defend themselves against the bullying.
The results also showed that employees who already have mental health problems are more likely to report that they are exposed to bullying, than colleagues without such existing problems. The results confirm earlier assumptions about the harmful effects of bullying in the workplace, and also point to an increased probability that a person with mental health problems will be exposed to bullying at a later date.
The results also show that people exposed to bullying change their jobs more often than workers who are not bullied. Those who are bullied also plan to quit their jobs more often than those who are not bullied.
The results still provide no absolute basis for the assumption that bullying leads to people dropping out of the labour market, since most of those who reported being bullied were still in work two years later. The fact that many victims of bullying reported either having left their jobs or planning to do so, however, indicates that bullying is a big problem in terms of turnover for many businesses.
The results from these studies clearly show that bullying in the workplace can lead to serious consequences for those affected. In order to prevent and deal with bullying, it is important to identify factors that influence the incidence of bullying and to examine both individual and organisational factors that can protect individuals against the negative effects of bullying. Identification of these factors therefore should be a priority area in future research on bullying at the workplace.
Finne, L.B., Knardahl, S., Lau, B. (2011), ‘Workplace bullying and mental distress – a prospective study of Norwegian employees’, Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, Vol. 37, No. 4, 2011, pp. 276–287.
Berthelsen, M., Skogstad, A., Lau, B., Einarsen, S (2011), ‘Do they stay or do they go? A longitudinal study of intentions to leave and exclusion from working life among the targets of workplace bullying’, International Journal of Manpower, Vol. 32, No. 2, 2011, pp. 178–193.
Bjørn Tore Langeland, National Institute of Occupational Health